Kotao Tomozawa was born in 1999, in Bordeaux, France, she lived in Paris until the age of five. Tomozawa came to Japan in 2004 and is currently studying at Tokyo University of the Arts, majoring in oil painting, while also participating in numerous solo and group exhibitions. Tomozawa’s unique portraits, combining slime-like materials and organic motifs, realistically depict texture, translucency, and softness, leaving an unforgettable impact once seen. Tomozawa’s works, in which extreme cruelty is wrapped up with the utmost gentleness, have many facets like an extract of this world boiled down, but the expression itself is extremely simple.
In 2019, Tomozawa formed the art unit "Tororoen" with her own mother, Mimiyo Tomozawa. In the same year, she won the Kume Keiichiro Prize, and in 2020, she was selected for the Art Plaza Grand Prize at the University of the Arts. Major exhibitions include "caché" (Hankyu Men's Tokyo tagboat) and "Tagboat Artshow" (Hankyu Men's Tokyo) in 2021, "remix" (3331artschiyoda) and "Pomme d'amour" (3331artschiyoda) in 2020. Pomme d'amour" (mograg gallery), "MIND THE GAP" (THE blank GALLERY).
PROFILE
| 1999 | Born in Bordeaux, France |
| 2018 | Enrolled in Tokyo University of the Arts, Department of Painting, Oil Painting Course Currently, based in Tokyo, Japan |
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
| 2021 | “caché” HANKYU MEN’S TOKYO tagboat, Tokyo |
| 2020 | “Pomme d’amour” mograg gallery, Tokyo |
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
| 2021 | “TAGBOAT ARTSHOW” HANKYU MEN’S TOKYO, Tokyo “It’s not that time yet” Soei Gallery, Tokyo |
| 2020 | “remix” 3331artschiyoda, Tokyo “Shibuya Style” Shop or Department Store in The Shibuya area, Tokyo “WAVE2020” 3331artschiyoda, Tokyo “MIND THE GAP” THE Blank GALLERY, Tokyo “Mocozo × Art Exhibition” Pearl Bookshop & Gallery, Tokyo “silence” Meguro Museum of Art Kumin Gallery, Tokyo “Paper Insect Collection Exhibition” billiken gallery, Tokyo “Axe Cover Exhibition” billiken gallery, Tokyo “tororoen II” trance pop gallery, Tokyo “Geidai Art Plaza Grand Prize 2020” geidai art plaza, Tokyo |
| 2019 | “/” Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo “WAVE2019” 3331artschiyoda, Tokyo “Exhibition of 2019 Keiichiro Kume Scholarship Winners” yuga gallery, Tokyo “Tokyo Independents” Tokyo University of the Arts Exhibition Hall, Tokyo “tororoen” ( Exhibition with Mimiyo Tomozawa) billiken gallery, Tokyo |
| 2018 | “Ganguro farm” (Exhibition with Andy Bolus) UPLINK SHIBUYA, Tokyo |
ACCOLADES
| 2020 | Selected for Art Plaza Grand Prize, Tokyo University of the Arts |
| 2019 | Kume Award |
